Horror of Attack Takes Emotional Toll on Nation

Written by Cynthia Long, Staff Writer, RedCross.org

September 12, 2001 — A jet slams into the north tower of the World Trade Center, cutting a wide, scorching gash into the side of the structure. Minutes later, a second jet hits the other tower and bursts into a fireball. Enormous plumes of smoke billow into clear blue skies, and a New York City landmark collapses in a volcanic cloud of dust and debris. As people in the street stare up at the unthinkable, it gets worse. The second tower collapses and Lower Manhattan is transformed into a war zone.

These horrific images are emblazoned on the national conscience and will haunt us for years to come. But the horror continues as firefighters and rescuers risk, and lose, their lives searching through smoldering debris for survivors. Once the tallest buildings in the world, the twin towers have been reduced to a ghastly heap of twisted metal and slabs of concrete. Thick shards of steel punctured the ground in eerie patterns throughout the site, creating what one rescuer said looks like a "cathedral in Hell." The images are almost too horrible to imagine, but their reality is inescapable as television news programs broadcast them around the world. For many, the images have begun to take a heavy emotional toll, especially on children.

Before fanning out to provide counseling to weary, emotional rescue workers, Red Cross mental health workers hold a brief meeting at the site of the Pentagon disaster on Tuesday night (Sept. 11).

For those who lost loved ones in the attack, the toll can be debilitating. Most go through four emotional stages, according to Abbie McGreavey, a Red Cross mental health counselor working in the San Francisco Bay Area. "Number one is disbelief. People think, 'Not to my loved one. There must be some mistake.' Second is numbing, when they just shut down," she said. "Third is intense anger, and finally, after time, is resolution, when people find a way to make sense of the tragedy."

Red Cross mental health counselors are working with victims' families at sites around the country, including Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and San Francisco. But the anguish is not confined to those who lost friends or family in the attack. The entire country is reeling. Everyone has experienced loss in some way, particularly a loss of a sense of security.

The terrorist attacks were unprecedented. Americans have no frame of reference for such horrible events. Disasters caused by human beings can be more frightening than natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes. There is no warning and no time to get ready. Unlike a hurricane or slow-rising flood, people have no way to prepare mentally for this kind of disaster.

Further, people don't expect this kind of disaster. Most of the disasters in this country are either weather related or accidents. The U.S. has almost no history of this kind of attack, and has a hard time believing that it could happen. It's hard to understand why anybody would do something on purpose that would cause death and injuries to so many innocent people.

A common emotion after an event like this is fury. People become enraged that their safety could be violated in such a gruesome manner. But McGreavey encourages people to turn that anger into activism. She recalled a two-sided Chinese symbol for "crisis" with one side representing danger and the other opportunity. "When something like this happens, we can find an opportunity to change," she said. "How can we be safer? How can we prevent this from happening again?" Turning anger into action is a vital part of recovery, McGreavey said.

Action is especially important to children who have been frightened and confused by the event, and it is the third component of crisis resolution. The first component is developing a realistic perception. "My nephew was convinced the world was coming to an end, but I sat down with him to try provide him with a realistic perception," McGreavey said. "We took out the world map and I had him look at all of the continents and then the United States. I asked him to point out New York, and then Washington, and then Pennsylvania. I showed him that this was an isolated event, that it happened in one small part of America."

The second step in crisis resolution is finding a support system. "Children need to find someone to talk freely with about their feelings. They need someone who can ask them what they're thinking and help them cope with their confusion and fear. That person could be a parent, an older sibling, a teacher — anyone whom the child can trust," McGreavey said.

The final step is creating a plan for action. "The family should encourage children to plan normal activities. If their soccer game was canceled, they should try to find a game with their friends in the neighborhood," McGreavey said. Families should also create safety plans for their own households, which fosters a sense of control.

As parents create plans for getting back into a normal routine, they should actively involve their children. One method for involving younger children is to give them a specific role in the plan. McGreavey recommends hugging — families can tell young children that their job is to hug their family members four times a day. "When a family is numb, they don't reach out to each other," McGreavey said. "But how can you resist a bear hug from a child? What better way to put things into perspective."